Cold Middle Eastern Lentil Salad

This Cold Middle Eastern Lentil Salad is healthy, delicious, and packed with plant-based protein. Packed with crisp cucumber, red onion, roasted red pepper, fresh herbs, and a spiced lemon vinaigrette. Naturally gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free, this quick and easy recipe is perfect for meal prep and served for lunch, dinner, or as a side dish.

The earthy, smoky flavor of tender lentils, combined with crisp cucumber, sharp red onion, roasted red pepper, vibrant fresh herbs, and bright, zesty vinaigrette, are a winning combination no one can turn down! This Middle Eastern-inspired cold lentil salad recipe is beyond easy to make, but seems like it came from a 5-star restaurant. Naturally gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free, it packs a plant-based protein punch along with a hefty dose of veggies and nutrients in each and every bite!

Why You'll Love This Cold Lentil Salad

Lentils don't get enough love! You can make a large batch in 15-20 minutes, and I won't even judge you if you use canned lentils for this recipe. Lentils are a fantastic source of vegan protein with 12g per half cup, cooked! Packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, they will keep you full and satisfied. Brown lentils make a perfect base for this lentil salad since they hold up the best without losing their shape or becoming mushy. This recipe is also:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Coconut-Free, Corn-Free)
• Sugar-Free
• Kid-Friendly
• A Make-Ahead & Meal Prep Essential
• Simple Side Dish, Lunch, or Dinner Salad
• Great For Any Potluck, Summer Cookout, BBQs, or Picnics

Ingredients For Middle Eastern Lentil Salad

• Lentils: Brown lentils (often just labeled "lentils" in the store) are the best option for this salad! Just 1 cup of dried lentils, cooked for about 18-20 minutes, just until they're tender. You can cook them ahead of time so they are nice and cool before mixing together the rest of the salad. If you want to take a little shortcut, you can use 2 cans of cooked lentils instead. A caveat is that they tend to be softer and mushier.
• Persian Cucumber: These small, crisp, virtually seedless cucumbers are ideal for a salad like this (we also use them in this Shirazi Salad)! They look like mini English cucumbers (which you can use if you can't find Persian cucumbers). The skin is so thin, peeling would be a tragedy, and they remain crisp and crunchy even when meal prepped.
• Red Onion: Everyone's salad onion of choice, sharp and slightly sweet, red onions are the best option for eating raw, especially once they sit in the salad and get to marinate in the fridge!
• Fresh Herbs: I love the combination of parsley and mint for this Middle Eastern salad! Parsley and mint are both traditional Middle Eastern herbs that provide a ton of fresh, bright flavor to the salad.
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper: I did not want raw tomatoes or peppers in this recipe, but I wanted something...red. Smokey, sweet, and charred, some chopped-up roasted red pepper strips added just the right amount of flavor and a pop of color to the lentils!
• Olive Oil: Specifically, a high-quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Robust, flavorful, and the perfect base for a lemony vinaigrette.
• Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds the bright, citrusy, tart flavor that ties this cold lentil salad together.
• Spices: The Middle Eastern spices used to season this lentil salad to perfection are: cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon or allspice, salt, and pepper.

Ingredients Substitutions & Add-Ins:

• Swap lentils for beans: You can always swap in some chickpeas in place of lentils if you tragically desire to do so (they're both legumes, not beans).
• Use pickled red onion: While the onions will soften and soak up the dressing flavors as the salad sits in the fridge, you can use pickled red onions from the get-go!
• Fresh or dried herb variations: You can use all parsley if you don't like the strong cooling flavor of fresh mint. You can also try some fresh dill, or use some dried mint instead of fresh!
• Add sumac: For an extra pop of bright citrus, lemony, Lebanese flavor, you can use a pinch of sumac.
• Aleppo pepper or red chili flakes: For some added heat, you can try some Syrian Aleppo pepper flakes or standard red pepper flakes.
• More veggies: There is always room for more veggies, so feel free to add in some grated carrot, halved cherry tomatoes, arugula, or diced bell pepper.

How To Make Cold Lentil Salad

1. Boil and cool your dried lentils, or if you are using canned, drain and rinse them before adding them to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add your chopped veggies, including the cucumber, red onion, herbs, and roasted red pepper, to the bowl before mixing everything together.

3. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, and spices before adding the vinaigrette to the salad bowl and mixing everything together so the salad is coated in the dressing. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
4. Chill the lentil salad in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes (ideally overnight) to give the flavors a chance to meld together before serving.

Make Ahead & Storage Instructions

• Make-Ahead: To meal prep or make this lentil salad ahead of time, you can simply follow the instructions of the recipe and store the salad in a closed container for up to 5-6 days. I recommend everyone pre-cook the lentils, and by making the salad ahead of time, the flavors will have optimal time to develop in the fridge (which is ideally overnight, the longer the better).
• Storage: You can store leftover cold lentil salad in the fridge for up to 5-6 days in a closed container.

Serving Suggestions

You can use this cold lentil salad as a side dish, entree, or filling in wraps, lettuce cups, or sandwiches! You can also pair it with other Middle Eastern or Mediterranean dishes like shawarma, falafel, a scoop of hummus, harissa potato salad, shirazi salad, gluten-free pita, dolmades, twice-baked eggplant, a slice of whole roasted cauliflower, or Levantine socca pizza!

More Lunch Salad Recipes:

• Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad
• Vegan BLT Pasta Salad
• Classic Italian Pasta Salad
• Vegan Egg Salad
• Easy Mexican Pasta Salad

More Lentil Recipes:

• High-Protein Vegan Meatballs
• Vegan Cauliflower Lentil Loaf
• Easy Lentil Shepherd's Pie
• Artichoke Basil Lentils

Print

Easy, simple, and delicious! Packed with plant-based protein, iron, and fiber, lentils are a little powerhouse legume and perfect for a filling "meal" salad that will satisfy vegans and meat-eaters!

So tell me:

+ What is your favorite way to use lentils? Throwback to the sprouted lentil era...

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